The Return of Utility Items

[thin wren]

Utility Items were a HUGE part of nmrih1. So much so that if you found a welder in any of the maps in the first game, it would do you well to keep it in your inventory just in case. Welders, Mag lights, Walkie Talkies, Flare guns, Fire extinguishers, some maps even had physical tools like bolt cutters. I believe tool items should return to nmrih2, but instead of being necessary, they just make doing the obj easier.

Welder – Can be used to weld metal doors shut. In survival mode, can be used to weld metal plates to windows and metal barricades to doors (like project zomboid). Can weld open padlocks, useless I know but it would just be an Easter egg mechanic. Can make obj’s were this could be applicable easier.

Fire Extinguisher – Can put out fires on all existing maps. Can be spammed to make a makeshift smokescreen that can disorientate zombies so you can slip away. Can put out zombies that are on fire. Can make obj’s were this could be applicable easier.

Mag light – An upgrade to the flashlight. Doesn’t require batteries. Makes your shove deals damage if used with a 1h weapon. Can be used as a very bad melee. Cost inventory space.

Flare gun – Can be shot into the air, anyone who sees the flare will instantly join their party. Can light zombies on fire. Can be shot in certain areas on certain maps to enable a second helicopter extraction if they miss the first one.

Walkie Talkie – Similar to nmrih1, when this item is in your inventory all talk is enabled for anyone else who has it in their inventory. Takes batteries to be maintained.

Let me know what yall think. Any other ideas you have for utility items would also be cool.

[split swallow]

My only critique is that flashlights should be something we can find in game and takes up space in our inventory.
We should have lighters by default.

[thin wren]

The only real issue I have with that is the lighter is kinda ass at lighting things. Which was fine in nmrih1 becuase the range on zombies was delegateed to reaching distance. ALOT of people would be beat up by zombies that just lunge out of the dark because they couldn't see them 💀

[split swallow]

Then the lunge would have to either be fixed or removed because it is super annoying.
I understand that a possible reason the lunges are there is because the maps are bigger and the lunges can make up for that distance, but at the same time, the UE4 build had no zombie lunges and the maps were big too.
I honestly feel the increased walk speed is enough for the zombies to cover the distance needed, not a lunge.

[whole cove]

Counter Point, make them available for loadouts. Or just turn up your gamma.

[midnight portal]

welder pretty sure it is coming at some point , the thing is the lighter since we already have the flashlights and you can easily find batteries around the map i think they should reduce drastically the quantity of batteries and we should have flashlight and lighter by default

[whole cove]

Dude, the welder coming back would be huge. Secret loot rooms, welding doors shut, opening up previously closed paths... Would be even better if they brought back the extinguisher as well since we could use that for fire zombies/fire areas, and then we could shoot them for a smokescreen.

[boreal pebble]

In the legacy version, you needed a wrench to repair something.
https://youtu.be/8BuK-QHxnKI?t=4674

[errant geode]

Batteries for the radio seem to be a bad idea; players need to be in communication with CRC even though we are not actually talking to them to get objectives.

I did once suggest adding handheld flares and chemlights for a better gameplay experience. But no one seems interested in my purpose

[onyx ivy]

They should make a map where we dont start as the crc but we pick up the radios and find each other by finding radios to finish a failed mission.

[tacit glacier]

Yes

[uneven canopy]

Get this in before we pass 1.0.0

Make it a survival game

[tacit glacier]

Yes

[tacit glacier]

[silent girder]

u guys use walkie talkie in nmrih? thats weird, its the most shit item in ur inventary

[split swallow]

Not me, but the legacy build walkie talkie was a VAST improvement over the first game's walkie talkie.

[gaunt ridge]

Bolt cutters would be neat .. instead of weld off padlocks, could be a fast way to cut them off would help early game when solo for sure in a few spots. Not sure how to make it not game breaking, but it'd also give an option for more useful functions like snipping/curling fences to crouch under, like the little gaps in Broadway -- utility to create shortcuts, zed delays (need to crawl under) and escape routes through chainlink fences

Either way definitely more can be done here, old post or not!

(But i argue if we're already "responders" not just "survivors", lacking even a basic flashlight seems odd ...if that lore/premise ever changes compared to nmrih1, then I'd agree! ... it could still take up some inventory so you have an option to ditch it if you 'really' want to, but i suspect it would be accidental and annoying most of the time as an extra 'bit' to juggle... possibly like walkies too, but i think walkie talkie giving extensive send+recieve boost of messages could still be a neat utility. Maybe even a gps device of sorts to enable seeing other player nametags and map locations instead of default ... would make the game much harder/brutal grouping up, for better or for worse 😅